Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to educational toys and educational systems, specifically a system including a toy for promoting travel education.
Description of the Related Art
Toys may be used for a number of educational purposes. Some toys have incidental educational value, while others are known specifically by the moniker of “educational toys.” Educational toys are typically built for and used by children. One could make the argument that an educational toy is actually any toy. Most children are constantly interacting with and learning about the world. This definition is ultimately too broad because one could make the same argument about a rock or a stick as it is not uncommon to see a child play with almost anything nearby.
The difference lies in the child's perception or reality of the toy's value. An educational toy should educate. It should instruct, promote intellectuality, emotional or physical development. An educational toy may teach a child about a particular subject or may help a child develop a particular skill. The key difference is the child's learning and development associated with interacting with the toy.
More toys are designed with the child's education and development in mind today than ever before. As parents and educators grow more sensitive to the real or perceived development needs of children, toy manufacturers seek to manufacture and market to these parents.
One of the aspects of a child's education is in learning about their environment, their place in their environment and also about learning about others and their place as well. In particular, children are taught about geography, including but not limited to learning about places, countries, climates, cultures, people, ecosystems and the like and etc. Different tools are used to provide this education, including but not limited to maps, books, quizzes, board games, culturally specific dolls, stories and the like and etc. There are also interactive computer games like the franchises known as “ClueFinders,” “Where in the World is Carmen SanDiego” and “Mission Possible World Geography” as well as various simulators (flight simulators, historical/geographic based first-person shooters, strategic battle simulators, and etc.).
Some improvements have been made in the field. Examples of references related to the present invention are described below in their own words, and the supporting teachings of each reference are incorporated by reference herein:
U.S. Pat. No. 6,773,344, issued to Gobai et al., discloses methods and apparatus for integrating interactive toys with interactive television and cellular communication systems are described. Interactive toys have real time conversations with users, preferably employing speech recognition. Interactive toys are preferably connected to at least one interactive toy server which is preferably connected to entertainment, education, sales promotion and other content providers possibly via Internet communication systems. Such a connection may utilize, for example, telephone lines, cellular communication systems, coaxial cables, satellite, DSL or other broadband systems. Interactive toys may be connected, via a wireless link, to a computing device such as a home computer, an Interactive Television set-top box or a base unit which provides Internet connectivity for the toy. Interactive toys may support mobile cellular or satellite communication. These toys are able to provide entertainment, education, sales promotion and other content to a user. Content is provided to users for their toys which enables toys to form relationships with users. Interactive Toys further utilize user knowledge bases to match entertainment, education and sales promotion content to user histories, behaviors and habits. Content is thus personalized to an individual user as well as to a user's environment including the user's location and the time at which the toy is used. Integration of content, such as entertainment, education and sales promotion is provided by merging Interactive Television techniques with Interactive Toys.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,967,657, issued to Ganz, discloses a computer system provides a virtual world. The computer system includes a server subsystem serving virtual world data, via a communication network, and receives data and/or commands. A registration subsystem, coupled to the server subsystem, verifies information from a toy, registers the toy, and determines a quantity of toys registered by a user who is registering the toy. The verifying includes determining the validity of the information. A virtual world providing subsystem, coupled to the server subsystem, provides the virtual world data, which produces data that presents the virtual world. The virtual world data includes a virtual toy representing the toy and a reward provided to the user for registering the toy. The reward is based on the quantity of toys previously registered by the user, such that the reward received for registering the toy is different than another reward previously received by the user for registering another toy.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No.: 2004/0229696, by Beck, discloses a toy or game play apparatus or method involving a powered host such as a doll or a tablet which operates interactively in a mode of play with one or more non-powered play objects. The host has a preprogrammed microcontroller and a RFID reader/interrogator circuit. Each play object has a RFID tag IC. Each tag IC has a memory holding digital data that includes at least ID information different from that of the other play objects. When the host and a play object are positioned so as to afford RF communication between them, the host can send power to energize the tag IC of the play object. This causes the tag IC to transmit data including at least its ID information back to the host. The host recognizes that transmitted data and makes a presentation in accordance with the mode of play to the user caused by that transmitted data. In one mode the play objects may have a variable aspect, and the host determines and makes a user presentation based on the then current state of the variable aspect.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No.: 2012/0264349, by Ciampitti et al., discloses a character based huggable plush seatbelt cover configured to attach to a vehicle seatbelt is provided. The plush seatbelt cover can incorporate pockets and zippered compartments to accommodate a variety of items that kids want or need to have close by during car travel. The huggable plush toy can attach to a shoulder strap to be carried by a child. An affinity membership program for kids can be created that can entitle members to special discounts on related products. A customizable website can include special offers at affiliate destinations. Various ornamentation can be included to create different characters.
The inventions heretofore known suffer from a number of disadvantages which include not being fun for children, being limited in use, being limited in application, not being educational, not helping kids remember past trips, not enhancing creativity in children, not expanding imagination, not expanding a child's view of the world and their place in it, not allowing interaction with other users, not providing a sense of wonder and exploration, not rewarding travel and exploration, being expensive, being unduly complex, failing to teach geography, not entertaining people on trips, and failing to build a unique story.
What is needed is a system for promoting travel education that solves one or more of the problems described herein and/or one or more problems that may come to the attention of one skilled in the art upon becoming familiar with this specification.